Device for guiding the frame in an embroidery machine



E. COMERIO 3,161,165

DEVICE FOR GUIDING THE FRAME IN AN EMBROIDERY MACHINE Dec. 15, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1961 Inventor raole Garner 0 y M ML 7M Dec. 15, 1964 E. COMERIO 3,161,165

DEVICE FOR GUIDING THE FRAME IN AN EMBROIDERY MACHINE Filed Feb. 13, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor [rho/8 CUMEr/o Attorneys Dec. 15, 1964 E. COMERIO 3,161,155

DEVICE FOR GUIDING THE FRAME IN AN EMBROIDERY MACHINE Filed Feb. 15, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR free/e flower/ o BYm f k flilv Wh ATTORNEYS United 3,lbl,lb Patented Dec. 15, 1964 3,161,165 DEVICE FOR GUlDlNG THE FRAME 1N AN EMBROIDERY MACHINE Ercole Qornerio, Busto Arsizio, Varese, ltaly, assignor to lvletalmeccanica S.p.A., Bnsto Arsizio, Italy Filed Feb. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 88,985 Claims priority, application Italy, Sept. 7, 1960, 6,427 4 Claims. (Cl. l129l) In known machines such as in US. Patents 1,068,284 and 1,066,491 for embroidering a fabric in which the frame supporting the fabric is disposed for a horizontal and a vertical displacement which will give the desired pattern. To accomplish this displacement, the frame is generally provided with a guiding device consisting of at least two movable slide members disposed at 90 with respect to each other and mounted in suitable guides. To obtain a perfect execution of the pattern desired, the guides must be perfectly adjusted in order to avoid even the smallest play between the slide members and their guides.

In order to comply with this adjustment requirement, guides have been made having a substantially rectangular C section with the branches of the open side fixed adjustably to eliminate any play between the slide members and the guides, both'at the time of setting up the machine and during the use of the machine. In order to compensate for the wear of both the slide members and the guides.

The main disadvantage of these types of guides are they can easily get out of adjustment and are hard to readjust.

The object of the present invention, is to provide a guiding device which fully avoids these disadvantages and reduces the wear between the slide members and the guides which can be adjusted easily.

The device is characterized in that each slide member consists of a bar or tube having a circular section along the outer perimeter, and each guide therefore consists of a group of roller elements disposed in contact with the outer surface of the slide member. The group of elements preferably consists of three rollers mounted on pivots arranged 120 apart with respect to each other, around the respective slide member which is preferably of tubular configuration and two of the pivots are eccentric.

The invention will now be better described with reference to a particular embodiment, shown, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front view of said embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a section along lines IIII of FIG, 1;

FlG. 3 is an enlarged section along lines III-J11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section along lines lVIV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section along lines VV of HG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a section of the line Vl-VI of FIG. 3.

The guiding supports for the workframe of the invention consists of two hollow bodies 1 and 2, connected with each other through bolts 3, with their axes disposed at 90, with respect to each other and with the bodies acting as supports for the guides and being connected to the machine framework 5 through bolts 4.

Each of the supporting guide bodies 1 and 2 has at least two spaced groups 6 of roller elements for the vertical and horizontal slides 7 and 8, respectively, which slides have a circular cross section.

One of the roller groups for the slide 8 will now be described in detail as shown in FIG. 3; the other group of roller elements for the slide 7 are identical to those described in connection with the slide 8.

Each group 6 consists of three ball bearings 9, Ill and 11 whose rotating planes are spaced apart with respect to each other, and intersect each other on the common axis of the cylinder or tube forming the outer surface of the slide 3, which slide moves in the outer rings of the ball bearings 9, 1t) and 11.

The ball bearings 10 and 11 are mounted on eccentric pivots Iii and 11' which may rotate in their seats Ill" and 11" respectively, and can be fixed thereto in any predetermined position through adjustable screws 12 and 13, respectively.

The third bah bearing 9 is mounted on a concentric pivot held by a screw 14 against axial displacements.

The eccentric pivots ill and 11' make it possible to displace the rotating axes of the ball bearings ill and 11, toward and away from the surface of the slide 8 so that slide 8 is perfectly centered, both at the time of setting up the machine and during the use thereof, and when the wear of either the slide 8, or the outer rings of the ball bearings 9, it! and 11 creates some play between the one and the other.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 the slide 8 is provided with two pairs of rotating rollers 16 between which there is held a slidable rod 17, fixed to the mobile frame 15. This connection allows the rod 17 to slide vertically between the rollers 16 in order to permit the frame 15 to follow the movements of the vertical slide '7, while the horizontal position of the frame 15 remains unmoved.

The vertical slide 7 is connected, by means of bolts 18, to a support 19 on which a freely rotating roller 20 (F163. 1 and 2) is mounted. The roller 20 supports the base 21 of a bracket 22 secured to the frame 15. The weight alone of the mobile frame 15 serves to maintain contact between the bracket 22 and the roller 20 when the slide 7 drives the frame vertically.

The connection between mobile frame 15 and slide 7 allows the frame to move horizontally on the rollers Ztl when driven by the slide 8.

What I claim is:

1. A device for guiding the vertical and horizontal displacements of the movable workframe of an embroidery machine comprising a vertical guide and a horizontal guide fixed against movement and connected together, a vertical slide carried by said vertical guide for vertical movement, a horizontal slide carried by said horizontal guide for horizontal movement, first cooperating means carried by said vertical slide and said .frame for supporting and controlling the vertical position of said frame while permitting freedom of horizontal movement thereof, and second cooperating means carried by said horizontal slide and said frame for supporting and controlling the horizontal position of said frame while permitting freedom of vertical movement thereof, said first cooperating means including a roller carried by said vertical slide and having an axis of rotation disposed normal to said horizontal slide, and a horizontal bracket carried by said frame parallel to said horizontal slide and riding on said roller, whereby to allow free horizontal movements of the frame in the direction of said horizontal guides.

2. A device for guiding the vertical and horizontal displacements of the movable workframe of an embroidery machine comprising a vertical guide and a horizontal guide fixed against movement and connected together, a vertical slide carried by said vertical guide for vertical movement, a horizontal slide carried by said horizontal guide for horizontal movement, direct cooperating means cmried by said vertical slide and said frame for supporting and controlling the vertical position of said frame while permitting freedom of horizontal movement theresaid-roller, whereby to allow free horizontal movements of the frame in thedirection of the horizontal guide,'said zontal slide and said frame for supporting and controlling the horizontal position of said frame while permitting second cooperating means including a vertical rod carried by said frame, and rollers carried by said horizontal slide and engaged with opposite vertical faces'ofsaid vertical rod for transmitting horizontal displacements of said horizontal slide to-said frame while permitting vertical movements of the movable Workframe of an embroidery machine comprising a vertical guide and a horizontal guide fixed against movement and connected together, a vertical slide carried by said vertical guide for vertical While permitting freedom of horizontal movement there- -of, and second cooperating means carried by said-hori- V the outer ring of ball bearings.

freedomof vertical movement thereofleach of said slides being in theform of a bar of a section providing at least three circumferentially spaced generally parallel guide sur= faces, each of said guides being "of an open cross-section and carrying a plurality of sets of rollers with each roller set including a roller for such guide surface, and "each of said rollers having a narrow annular outer surface engaged with a respective one of said guide-surfaces, wherein each of ."said roller sets comprises three rollers mounted on pivots arranged at angles of 120 to each other around the associated slide, at least two of said rollers being eccentrically mounted to allow the displacement of their axes parallel to themselves in order to efie'ct accuratecentering of the'rollers on the slide.

4.: A device as in claimd Whereinthe rollers eonsist of References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,242,336 Atwood i May 20, 1941 2,627,880 Johnson Feb. 10, 1953 2,709,976 Lambach -i June-7, 1955 2,973,914 Beninger etal, Mar. 7, 1961 p ,FOREIGN PATENTS 977,380

France Nov. 8, 1950 

1. A DEVICE FOR GUIDING THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL DISPLACEMENTS OF THE MOVABLE WORKFRAME OF AN EMBROIDERY MACHINE COMPRISING A VERTICAL GUIDE AND A HORIZONTAL GUIDE FIXED AGAINST MOVEMENT AND CONNECTED TOGETHER A VERTICAL SLIDE CARRIED BY SAID VERTICAL GUIDE FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT, A HORIZONTAL SLIDE CARRIED BY SAID HORIZONTAL GUIDE FOR HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT, FIRST COOPERATING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID VERTICAL SLIDE AND SAID FRAME FOR SUPPORTING AND CONTROLLING THE VERTICAL POSITION OF SAID FRAME WHILE PERMITTING FREEDOM OF HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT THEREOF, AND SECOND COOPERATING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID HORIZONTAL SLIDE AND SAID FRAME FOR SUPPORTING AND CONTROLLING THE HORIZONTAL POSITION OF SAID FRAME WHILE PERMITTING FREEDOM OF VERTICAL MOVEMENT THEREOF, SAID FIRST COOPERATING MEANS INCLUDING A ROLLER CARRIED BY SAID VERTICAL SLIDE AND HAVING AN AXIS OF ROTATION DISPOSED NORMAL TO SAID HORIZONTAL SLIDE, AND A HORIZONTAL BRACKET CARRIED BY SAID FRAME PARALLEL TO SAID HORIZONTAL SLIDE AND RIDING ON SAID ROLLER, WHEREBY TO ALLOW FREE HORIZONTAL MOVEMENTS OF THE FRAME IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID HORIZONTAL GUIDES. 